


Finding Balance

by owlpockets



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Femslash February, Fluff, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-23 10:39:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13785756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlpockets/pseuds/owlpockets
Summary: On the road to Altissia, Lunafreya insists on taking Crowe ice skating.





	Finding Balance

**Author's Note:**

> Art by [jarvi](http://jarvipie.tumblr.com/) (coming soon)! We have been watching a lot of Olympic figure skating.

When Crowe suggested taking a break from traveling for the afternoon, this hadn't been exactly what she had in mind. Cold was not her friend. She didn't like a total stranger handling her favorite pair of boots. The fact that she had knives on her shoes would have been comforting except for the fact that she was now being expected to balance on them and _walk_.

“Is this really considered a fun thing to do where you’re from?” Crowe asked as she valiantly wobbled along behind Lunafreya, who looked as elegant and poised as ever, not a single tremor interrupting her confident walk.

Lunafreya stopped and looked back at her, hesitating as if deciding how to diplomatically respond to Crowe's concerns. “I think you will find it enjoyable once we are on the ice.” She threaded her small hand around Crowe's arm to ease her forward, her gentle smile like a spring dawn.

Crowe remained unconvinced, though for that smile she would have happily jumped off a cliff into the sea. “Well...alright.” The hand on her arm was helpful in getting her through the doors and to the edge of the rink. 

Lunafreya stopped to pull on a pair of thin knit gloves. “Are you ready?” 

“Uh,” Crowe grunted unhelpfully. Her eyes tracked the handful of other people already out on the ice, picking up on how their bodies moved in a particular rhythm with their feet and arms. How hard could it be? “Sure.”

Smiling, Lunafreya stepped onto the ice, and turned to reach out her hand to Crowe. She looked cute and casually stylish in her stretchy gray dress and thigh-high socks knit from a soft teal wool. She had a matching hat she had knit herself in the passenger's seat during their endless hours in the car. The little flowers she had embroidered along the brim were disgustingly sweet. Crowe hadn't been the least interested in fashion before meeting Lunafreya; she felt like a gargoyle next to her, towering with the added height of her skates and lamenting the loss of her slightly less frayed pair of jeans to a daemon last week. Her leather jacket was suddenly stiff and uncomfortable in the cold. At least she had managed to get her unruly hair into two fairly neat braids that morning, albeit with Lunafreya’s help.

The glove was soft and warm in Crowe’s bare hand as she stepped onto the ice, eyes on Lunafreya’s encouraging smile. The feeling of gliding forward a little bit for the first step, and then the second was mildly euphoric, at least until the third step went wide and buckled her knee under her. Crowe tumbled down and hit her other knee hard, an undignified noise escaping her lips.

“Oh…oh dear.” Lunafreya wobbled and almost went down too, but was able to regain her balance quickly. “Are you alright?”

“Nothing broken, your highness,” Crowe answered after a moment of stunned silence.

“Let me help you up.” Lunafreya disengaged their hands and grasped Crowe’s elbows in a strong grip instead. “Keep one knee on the ice and push up with your other foot.”

With a tremendous effort, Crowe was able to get back on her feet without falling over again immediately. She gave Lunafreya a weak smile and stood still, focusing on simply balancing. If she could warp without killing herself, she could do this. The fall was merely a stroke of bad luck.

Lunafreya was still holding Crowe’s elbows, but she loosened her grip and slid them down her arms until they were holding hands again. “Perhaps if I go backwards and you balance on me….”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Crowe answered before she had finished speaking. She would not be defeated by a bit of useless frozen water when she could command the stuff to do her bidding. Used to. Whatever.

Lunafreya looked amused as she started gliding backwards and tugging Crowe along with her. Their scheme lasted about twelve steps before Crowe overbalanced and landed on her ass. At least it hurt less than hitting her knees, but this time she tripped Lunafreya with her foot as well, though the princess was able to recover without falling. Crowe barely made it to her feet again before toppling a third time, growling out a frustrated curse. She gathered her determination and forced herself back upright.

The fourth fall had Crowe letting go of Lunafreya’s hands in a panic over the possibility of injuring her. She fell sideways and braced with her hands, feeling them scrape painfully over a rough patch on the ice. They were already numb with cold from the last fall and now the skin of her palms was red and angry when she looked at them. Suddenly, she felt utterly inadequate, unable to get her feet back under her, icy water soaking into her pants. Her vision swam gray at the edges and the smell of rotting garbage caught in her nose. Her heart stuttered and Crowe realized distantly that she might be having what she guessed was a flashback, and that she also might burst into tears out of frustration. In public. _In front of the princess._

Crowe didn’t notice how much time she lost, but she did notice her hands now felt dry and warm. Lunafreya was rubbing them between her own, crouched down on the ice. She had put her gloves on Crowe’s hands and her hat on Crowe’s head. “You can borrow these, you need them more than I do,” she said softly.

Crowe watched the princess’s hands smooth over her own, blinking slowly as she remembered she was in the ice rink repeatedly falling on her ass for the express purpose of _fun_. A couple gliding slowly nearby were giving her odd looks and she squinted at them, unfriendly.

“Are you ready to stand?” Lunafreya asked patiently.

“I…I think so.” Crowe’s face and neck were burning in embarrassment. She leaned her head forward for a moment, allowing her hair obstruct her face while she tried to piece back together her shattered dignity and slow her breathing. “Okay.”

Lunafreya stood first, slowly, without letting go of Crowe’s hands, and braced herself to haul her to her feet. Crowe was upright again, but she felt a bit light-headed and would have lost her footing immediately if Lunafreya hadn’t moved in and wrapped both her arms around her waist. Her hair brushed against Crowe’s face, warm and silky smooth, and she leaned her face against her shoulder. Crowe didn’t know what to do with her arms and held them stiffly, awkward and unsure.

Eventually, Lunafreya pulled away and leaned up to place a light kiss against Crowe’s cheek. “I have an idea. Do you want to try again?”

Crowe was gaping like a fish, but snapped her mouth closed and set her jaw. “Fuck yes, I want to try again.”

With a grin, Lunafreya arranged Crowe’s arms on her shoulders while her own hands found Crowe’s waist again. There was a spark of mischief in her eyes. “I’ll lead.”

Crowe’s breath caught in her throat at that look. Lunafreya took a step back, tugging her forward. It worked.

 


End file.
